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Originally published on the John Yorke Story website, January 2017 If you’re interested in John Yorke’s courses and his book – click here I was talking to a friend of mine recently – a writer. He’d been involved in a huge international co-production and he told me about the script meetings where various people would have their […]

Originally published in The Stage, November 2016 At a recent conference on screen acting training, there was a lot of talk about making students industry-ready. From self-taping to showreels, tutors were busy discussing what tools an actor needs to survive in the industry. But then the principal of Drama Centre London, Jonathan Martin, set down a provocation […]

Originally published in The Stage, October 2016 Speak to any course leader or drama school principal and it is hard to get any consensus over the demise of Drama UK. Many drama schools valued the work that Drama UK did. Drama Centre principal Jonathan Martin told me: “On a simple level, Drama UK offered us the opportunity […]

Originally published in The Stage, September 2016 Once you have finished your training in contemporary dance, where do you go to start your career? Like all performers, dancers are in a position where they need that bridge into professional companies, as well as a safe space to experiment, to create work and to collaborate with choreographers. Transitions […]

Originally published in The Stage, September 2016 It used to be one of the most frequent complaints you’d hear from drama school graduates: while they felt prepared for big classical roles and theatre productions, they had been given very little training for screen. It is certainly the case that, traditionally, drama schools would take the stance […]

Originally published in The Stage, September 2016 Open auditions have long been the preserve of big West End musicals. Long before reality television started broadcasting the casting -process, emerging, unrepresented -performers were still getting the chance to audition for big -productions and international tours by responding to adverts in The Stage, turning up early and -joining the […]

Originally published in The Stage, July 2016 Is making theatre for young audiences any different to making theatre? Does it require a special set of skills that aren’t offered on other training courses? If you look at the syllabus of many acting BAs and applied theatre courses, there are modules aimed at theatre for young audiences. It […]

Originally published in The Stage, June 2016 If you have ever worked at East 15, or with an East 15 actor, you will have probably heard the words ‘living history’ mentioned in hushed tones. Students and graduates of the drama school will know that the Living History Project is one of the cornerstones of training at East […]

Originally published in The Stage, June 2016 When Boy opened at the Almeida earlier this year, writer Leo Butler was widely praised for his faithful representation of often-marginalised young people in London. A master of observation, Butler mapped the journey of a teenage boy through a day in London, a boy who falls through the cracks of […]

Originally published in The Stage, June 2016 The stage management team plays a vital role in the rehearsal and run of a production, but when those working backstage do their job well, their work is often invisible, and can easily be overlooked even by fellow company members. Perhaps it is not surprising that while a school’s […]